Healthy Family, Happy Family (19 page)

This tasty alkaline broth (and stock) is a nutritious way to boost your immune system when a family member has cold and flu symptoms. It’s rich in cysteine to reduce congestion and anti-ageing glycine and other amino acids to help the liver remove wastes from the blood; plus, the flavonoids from the onion, garlic, parsley and ginger help to protect your cells from DNA damage. Use it to make Easy Chicken Noodle Soup or add to casseroles or make Easy Roast Chicken gravy with it (above). The secret to a highly nutritious broth is apple cider vinegar—the acid draws out the calcium and magnesium from the chicken bones.

Place all of the ingredients in a slow cooker or a large stockpot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 6–8 hours (the longer the better for a more flavoursome broth). After the first hour of cooking, break apart the carcasses using tongs, to allow more of the nutrients to be extracted from the bones.

Place a strainer over a large bowl, then pour the broth through the strainer, discarding the boiled bones and vegetables when you have finished. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible as you strain the stock; I use a measuring cup and press on the cooked meat and vegetables to press out the remaining liquid. Store the broth in clean glass jars, keeping any leftover broth in the freezer (measure the amounts in cups and write the volume on the jars before freezing).

You may need to use less water if your slow cooker is small (use a slow cooker that is 4.5 litres/9 pints or more). Add more water as necessary.

Easy and tasty, and unbelievably hasty. Rich in cysteine and quercetin to boost immunity during cold and flu season. If you’ve got the time, I recommend you premake the highly nutritious Homemade Chicken Broth and go for Parent of the Year.

In a large saucepan, heat a little extra virgin olive oil and lightly fry the onion, garlic and paprika. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until the pasta and vegetables have softened. Taste and season if desired.

Ladle into soup bowls and serve with sourdough or grainy toast. If you have spare parsley, finely chop and add to the soup before serving.

You can use fresh vegetables instead of frozen if time permits. Finely dice 3 stalks celery, 2 large carrots, 2 handfuls cauliflower and shave the kernels off 2 uncooked corn cobs and add them to the soup. Simmer until the vegetables soften.

Time for broth? Instead of the water and stock, use up to 3 litres (6 pints) of Homemade Chicken Broth.

V&Vn:
omit the chicken and add 1⁄2 cup dried red lentils (cook for 20–30 minutes) and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

GF:
omit the pasta and check the stock ingredients.

EP:
make Homemade Chicken Broth instead of using bought stock; omit the paprika and dried mixed herbs; finely dice celery, carrot and cabbage (3–4 cups) instead of using frozen vegetables.

French for ‘rooster in wine’, Coq au Vin is just divine. The alcohol burns off during cooking, so this meal can be enjoyed by children. Don’t want to use red wine today? You can make Coq au Beef Stock—it’s yummy in a different way.

Using a clean tea towel or paper towels, pull the skin off each drumstick: hold the end of the skin at the widest part of the drumstick then pull to the bony end until the skin comes off completely (this should be quite easy). Discard the skin and then place the drumsticks in a plastic bag. Add the flour and shake to coat the chicken (when you remove the floured chicken there will be leftover flour in the bag which you can reserve for later).

In a large, deep frying pan, heat the oil on high heat and fry the drumsticks until golden brown. Remove and set aside. In the same frying pan sauté the onions and garlic, frying for 1 minute, stirring often. Add the broth (or water and powdered stock), red wine, tomato paste and mix. Then add the drumsticks. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and then reduce heat to a strong simmer for 15 minutes.

Mash time: heat some water in a steamer. Meanwhile, peel the sweet potato and dice it into 1cmx1cm (1⁄2inx1⁄2in) pieces (small pieces cook faster). Steam for 10 minutes or until very soft (if you don’t have a steamer, boil the sweet potato for 5 minutes). Remove from heat and drain if necessary. Put the sweet potato into a saucepan or a flat-based bowl for mashing. Add soy milk and splash of the casserole liquid and then mash well (or let it cool for 5 minutes then pop it into a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy). Set aside.

Back to the casserole: after 15 minutes of cooking, add the mushrooms and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Then wash the parsley and finely chop the leaves, discarding the stems.

Remove the drumsticks from the casserole. Then mix the reserved brown rice flour with a little water (approx. 2 tablespoons). Stir this into the casserole, mixing constantly until the mixture thickens. Finally, mix in the parsley and let it soften for a minute. Serve with a side of sweet potato mash. (Thanks Pav Alexander for this recipe.)

Non-alcoholic option:
use 1 cup beef stock plus 1 extra tablespoon tomato paste instead of red wine.

You can make this meal the day before to allow the flavours to develop further. Consume within 4 days.

Whole bird:
instead of drumsticks, you can use 1 whole chicken. However, you’ll need a bit of skill and extra time to cut it up. Use chicken cutters or a big, sharp knife to cut the bird into large serving-sized pieces, then remove the skin and cook as described.

Microwave or pressure cooker:
After the casserole has simmered for 15 minutes (before mashing the sweet potato), transfer the casserole into a covered microwave-proof container and cook on high for 10 minutes (for correct cooking time for a pressure cooker, refer to your cooker’s instructions). Then add the mushrooms and microwave for 5 minutes.

Any leftover tomato paste can be stored in a plastic zip lock bag in the freezer. Remaining beef stock can be stored in a jar in the freezer. Label, date and record the volume you are freezing.

Pizza can be pretty healthy when you create your own masterpiece. Make this healthy pizza with any toppings you like. I’ve chosen anchovies for added omeag-3, and smoked paprika gives the chicken a wicked smoked ham flavour. See notes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Prepare the chicken for frying: cut the chicken into thin slices and trim any fat. Sprinkle on the paprika. Heat a splash of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the chicken pieces, cooking for 5 minutes or until cooked.

Place a sheet of baking paper on a large baking tray (or 2 if you can fit 2 trays in your oven). Place the pizza bases onto the trays and generously spread on the pasta sauce, using a dessertspoon. Arrange the chicken and your other toppings of choice onto the bases (do not add the rocket leaves until after cooking). Then sprinkle on the dried basil. Cook the pizzas for 10 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Top with rocket leaves and cut into slices.

Other suitable toppings include pineapple, smoked salmon, prawns (shrimp), garlic, red capsicum (pepper), dollops of hummus dip and mozzarella cheese if desired.

If desired, soak the anchovies in milk for 2 minutes before using to give them a milder flavour.

If you can’t find preservative-free thin pizza bases or if you need it to be gluten free, use wholemeal, rye, or gluten-free corn flat mountain (unleavened) bread or similar wraps. If using flat wraps, you will need 2 packets/16 wraps (4 wraps to make 1 pizza base): just brush some water onto 1 wrap and place another wrap on top and repeat until there are 4 stuck together (do not brush water onto the fourth, top, layer).

Coated with a light, antioxidant-rich batter, this chicken will have your toddler screaming for more.

Peel and dice the sweet potato. Bring a steamer/saucepan of water to the boil and steam the sweet potato for 10 minutes or until very soft. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Mash and add the soy milk and season with salt and pepper if desired. Use more milk if necessary to make it a creamy mash. Set the mash aside.

In a small flattish bowl, mix the pesto, flour and water. Dip the chicken pieces into the bowl to lightly coat in the flour mixture.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat and cook the well-coated chicken in batches until golden and cooked through.

Using a steamer, steam the broccoli and peas for 3 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Optional: squeeze some lemon juice onto the green vegetables.

The secret to this dish is to cut the chicken pieces quite thin to ensure quick and even cooking. Keep the batter light—cornflour works best but wholemeal plain flour is the healthier option.

Homemade burgers are the best. This one’s full of fresh ingredients including antioxidant-rich vegetables, anti-cancer spices and quality meat. Get creative and add your favourite burger ingredients.